State Minister for Local Government, Rural Development and Co-operatives Mir Shahe Alam has instructed officials to implement public-interest projects on a priority basis and complete them within the stipulated timeframe.

He stressed that public interest should be given the highest priority in selecting and implementing projects. He also directed the authorities to seriously consider appointing an adequate number of project directors (PDs) and assigning responsibilities appropriately to ensure timely implementation.

State Minister for Planning Md Jonaid Abdur Rahim Saki was present at the meeting.

The directives were issued at a meeting held Tuesday at the conference room of the Local Government Division to review and approve new projects included in the Annual Development Programme (ADP) for the 2026-27 fiscal year, including approved projects listed on the “green pages” and proposed new projects.

Regarding waterlogging in Dhaka and environmental improvement, Mir Shahe Alam emphasized the need to regularly clean and maintain the canals under the jurisdiction of Dhaka North City Corporation and Dhaka South City Corporation and keep them functional.

He also stressed ensuring that treated wastewater is discharged into rivers only after proper sewage treatment.

At the meeting, State Minister for Planning Md Jonaid Abdur Rahim Saki said government plans and election commitments should be reflected in the selection and implementation of development projects.

He emphasized preparing long-term and effective plans based on future needs. He said similar projects could be coordinated and implemented on a cluster basis to reduce duplication and overlap. This, he added, would help minimize wastage of public resources while improving project effectiveness.

He said supplementary projects could be undertaken where necessary to achieve the core objectives of important projects. He also called for setting clear implementation deadlines and conducting regular progress reviews.

He stressed that projects should be completed quickly in the public interest through necessary measures such as redefining project scopes, re-scoping and merging projects where appropriate.

The meeting was chaired by Local Government Division Secretary Md Shahidul Hasan.

Among others, Planning Commission Physical Infrastructure Division chief Kabir Ahmad; Agriculture, Water Resources and Rural Institutions Division chief Md Babul Mia; Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) Chief Engineer Md Belal Hossain; Department of Public Health Engineering Chief Engineer Md Jamanur Rahman; Dhaka WASA Chief Engineer Alamgir Hachin Ahmed; and senior officials from the ministry, relevant departments and the concerned projects were present.